The Sweaty Penguin

Jan 13 2024 299
The Sweaty Penguin Podcast artwork

Sometimes, climate change IS a laughing matter. Every week, The Sweaty Penguin cuts through the noise and the doom-and-gloom of the climate conversation with late-night-comedy-style monologues and in-depth conversations with leading global experts on a variety of environmental issues. Through a nonpartisan approach, The Sweaty Penguin makes environmental issues less overwhelming and politicized and more accessible and fun. In partnership with Peril and Promise, a PBS/WNET public media initiative on climate change, The Sweaty Penguin invites you to join the hottest conversation in town.

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Tip of the Iceberg E62: Could Saudi Arabia derail COP28's biggest victory?

Jan 13 2024 28 mins  
The United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, wrapped up in the United Arab Emirates last month, bringing several steps forward for global climate cooperation. Chief among them: all 195 countries signed onto a “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net z

132. Polar Bears

Jan 05 2024 61 mins  
As climate change drives the melt of Arctic sea ice, polar bears are facing a major challenge. Scientists have said it is likely the global population of polar bears will fall by more than a third within the next three generations. But why does this issue matter, beyond polar bears being really cute? Today, we explore the ecological and economic importance of polar bears, the varie

Bonus: Why Do You Want to Take Over Gotham City?

Dec 28 2023 32 mins  
In The Sweaty Penguin’s second annual “Holiday Mailbag,” Ethan rounds up a few of the most cynical audience questions from 2023. Learn why the change from “global warming” to “climate change,” where climate alarmists may have taken things too far, and ChatGPT’s response to everyone calling Ethan a clown in this can’t miss bonus episode to conclude another year of

131. Rethinking Carbon

Dec 22 2023 58 mins  
If and when humans completely stop emitting carbon dioxide, how will the climate respond? For some time, communicators were operating with the misconception that there would be a “carbon lag” — carbon previously emitted would still be in the atmosphere, still be trapping heat, and still be warming the planet, and this lagged warming would continue for several decades. Recentl

Tip of the Iceberg E61: But what about China and India?

Dec 18 2023 32 mins  
A couple weeks ago, world leaders descended on Dubai for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) — a reminder of the fact that the United States cannot mitigate climate change alone, and needs China and India to curb their emissions too. But that’s not an argument to slow climate progress at home. Ethan explains that while global participation is necessary for the

130. Maritime Shipping

Dec 08 2023 72 mins  
Maritime shipping is a bit of a paradoxical climate issue. On the one hand, it accounts for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, burns extremely dirty bunker fuel, and has a number of inefficiencies leading to outsized pollution. On the other hand, it is also by far the most sustainable mode of transporting goods, as compared to planes, trains, and trucks — making it a sort of

Tip of the Iceberg E60: Floods have solutions

Nov 16 2023 42 mins  
In the last few months, catastrophic floods have ravaged parts of Libya, Myanmar, Cameroon, India, and Somalia, not to mention several such disasters in the United States. Climate change and floods have an interesting relationship — scientists contend climate change may be leading to fewer floods overall, but the floods that do happen become much more intense, particularly in urb

129. Rice

Nov 13 2023 54 mins  
A staple food for over half the world population, rice is perhaps one of the most universally enjoyed foods. But recently, as India enacted an export ban on rice and other countries have considered the same, global prices have spiked, Americans began panic buying, and many farmers and consumers around the world have suffered the consequences. At the root of the problem is climate c

Tip of the Iceberg E59: Don’t knock baby steps

Oct 11 2023 29 mins  
Many climate solutions are extremely exciting, but none are perfect. All have their limitations, and Hywind Tampen — the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm — is a prime example. Owned by fossil fuel company Equinor, Hywind Tampen is used to power drilling operations in the North Sea. It will lead to more fossil fuel extraction and potentially some greenwashing, but i

128. The North Dome Gas Field

Oct 06 2023 63 mins  
Last year, The Guardian did a five-month investigation into “carbon bombs,” or fossil fuel projects that would, over the course of their life, emit over one billion tons of carbon. They found that there are 195 planned oil and gas carbon bombs around the world, and if they proceed as planned, these projects alone would blow past internationally agreed upon climate targets. For